


Scars

by wordfullyyours



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: A little angst, F/F, Self Harm, a little fluff, a little romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 20:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6254713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordfullyyours/pseuds/wordfullyyours
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye has been more vulnerable than anyone knows, but now Jemma does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I just couldn't resist a chance to write some Skye/Jemma fluff! In my opinion, the only thing AOS is missing is lesbians ;) Anyway, I hope you like it! Trigger warning for discussion of self harm, but nothing graphic or descriptive.

Skye was sitting on her bed, cross-legged, working on her laptop in front of her. It was a relief to have a night to herself, and she was working on one of the projects that got overlooked during busier days. It was therapeutic, and she felt blissfully relaxed as her fingers tapped over the keys, working almost of their own accord.

She’d shucked her usual black clothing as soon as she had gotten to her room, and now felt free and comfortable in a black tank top and blue sleep shorts. Her mind felt very far away, and it was something of a rude awakening to hear a light knock at the door.

She blinked and stretched her suddenly sore back. “Who is it?”

“It’s Jemma,” said a quiet voice.

“Come in,” she said, pushing her laptop back.

Jemma opened the door, looking almost shy, and closed it behind her. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” said Skye, any initial irritation at being interrupted having vanished. “Do you need anything?”

“No, I—” Jemma hesitated. “I just…can’t seem to settle…tonight,” she said somewhat vaguely, waving a hand aimlessly. “Could I maybe sit with you for a bit?”

“Where’s Fitz?” asked Skye, figuring she could hardly be the first choice when Jemma wanted comfort.

“He’s still in the lab,” said Jemma, shifting on her feet. “Anyway, he’s not always very comforting.”

“Am I?” asked Skye, a little disbelieving.

Jemma gave a small laugh. “Yes. I don’t know, you’re…warm.”

Skye felt a pleasant tingle and she scooted to the other side of the bed, patting the empty spot beside her, and Jemma was there in a heartbeat.

“I thought I could maybe just watch you work for a bit,” she said shyly.

“I’m almost done,” said Skye, and she pulled the laptop into her lap. Jemma relaxed beside her, watching Skye’s fingers flash. When Skye finished her project Jemma was almost leaning against her, almost dozing, having slid closer without either of them noticing. It was hard, Skye thought, for an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. to admit they needed the comfort of human contact, but everyone did.

She closed the laptop and set it on the table beside her bed, drawing her legs back up to sit cross-legged. Jemma blinked fully awake and sat up a bit. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to get sleepy.”

“Don’t be,” said Skye, turning to give her a small smile, but Jemma’s attention had been drawn to her thighs, revealed by Skye’s sleep shorts.

“What are these?” Jemma murmured, reaching out a finger to almost touch the marks that lined Skye’s inner thighs, but hesitating.

Skye felt a flash of panic, feeling stupid to have forgotten how revealing her shorts were, and felt her heart kick up as she fought to keep her breathing even. She hadn’t had to explain those to anyone since Miles, but it was just as nerve wracking as she remembered.

“They’re nothing,” she whispered, trying to casually slide her legs straight and hide them, but Jemma’s hand caught her knee and held it. 

She glanced up at Skye’s face, which had gone pale, before reaching out a finger to touch them. Despite her anxiety, Skye couldn’t help but feel a small rush of electricity from Jemma’s finger.

“They’re not nothing,” said Jemma quietly. “They’re what I think they are, aren’t they?”

Skye closed her eyes, fighting to keep her breathing even and embarrassed of the tears in her throat. “Yes.”

“When? Not since I’ve known you…?” and Skye caught the almost pleading note in Jemma’s voice.

“No,” Skye whispered. “They’re old. Years old.”

Jemma’s finger traced the scars, and Skye was surprised at the two responses fighting within her—the pleasant tingle of Jemma’s hand and the anxious beating of her heart. Jemma looked up at Skye’s face again. “Just here?”

Skye looked back at Jemma before sliding her shorts down her hips down ever so slightly, revealing the scars on her hips. 

“Skye,” Jemma breathed. “Oh, why?”

“I was having a hard time,” Skye admitted. “Starting before I turned eighteen—realizing I’d never found a home and I’d lost my chance to—and then I aged out, and I had to leave the orphanage, which wasn’t even a home in the first place—and I had nowhere to go, and I was alone—I was so alone,” and her voice broke.

Jemma’s eyes hadn’t left her face, and now she said steadily, “You’d never lost your chance to find a family.”

And then she leaned down, and Skye’s breathing got shallower, and Jemma kissed, gently, the inside of Skye’s thigh, and the other, and then both of her hips. She sat up and looked right at Skye, with a fierceness and a protectiveness that startled Skye. “You found us,” said Jemma. “We’re your family.”

A small smile tugged at Skye’s lips. “I know,” she said. “But—this”—she gestured down at herself—“stopped much before that. I figured out how to get along on my own—eventually.”

Jemma’s eyes were wet, but they still looked steadily at Skye and didn’t waver. “I’m so sorry, Skye,” she said, her voice determined. “You will never be alone like that again.”

Skye didn’t know what to say. She just looked at Jemma, and then Jemma was leaning closer, and suddenly her mouth was pressed to Skye’s—

And Skye’s heart was pounding harder than ever, and color was rushing to her face, but all she could think about was Jemma’s mouth against hers, softer than any she’d ever kissed, and the soft touch of Jemma’s fingers, lifted to her cheek—

Jemma drew back slightly, and she seemed to have faded a bit in her sudden strength, looking nervous and shy. “Was that all right?” she asked. “I mean—”

Skye cut her off by kissing her again. “Yes. Yes, it’s all right. It’s—it’s more than I’ve ever felt.”

And somehow Jemma understood what she meant and she pulled Skye close with one arm, lifting her blanket with the other, and somehow she settled them both beneath, never letting go of Skye for an instant.

The light was off, and Jemma’s arms were strong, holding Skye close against her.

Skye felt small and shyer in the darkness than she did in the light, and she was quiet for a while before she gathered the courage to ask. 

“Jemma,” she whispered, and Jemma hummed in response. “Jemma, why me?”

Jemma’s hand squeezed her side unexpectedly. “How could there be anyone else but you?”

Skye felt the warm surprise all the way down to her toes, and she closed her eyes. 

“Go to sleep,” murmured Jemma, her voice soft, and she hummed something that Skye had never heard. Skye’s breathing deepened, and she drifted off feeling safer and warmer than she had ever dreamed she deserved.

Before she succumbed to a warm sleep, she heard Jemma whisper, “I won't let you be alone like that again.”


End file.
